Nettie Ruben: "The Story of Tan Oak Acorn" (1957)
Primary participants: Nettie Ruben (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-31
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 226-227, Text
31
Text display mode: paragraph | sentence | word | word components
| [1] |
yaas'ára |
u'iiníshriheesh |
| rich.person |
it.will.come.to.be |
|
Mankind was about to come into existence. |
| [2] |
koovúra |
kunvíikvunaa |
yíthuk |
chí |
kunívyiihmeesh |
| all |
they.weave |
elsewhere |
soon |
they.will.go |
|
They were all weaving, they were about to go to a different place. |
| [3] |
kári |
xás |
kunpíip |
chími |
chêemyaach |
nutákukvunaa |
| then |
then |
they.said |
soon |
quickly |
we.clean.baskets |
|
And they said, "Let’s clean out our baskets quickly." |
| [4] |
kári |
xás |
kunpíip |
chémi |
chúvaarap |
| then |
then |
they.said |
all.right |
let's.go |
|
And they said, "All right, let’s go!" |
| [5] |
kári |
xás |
kunpithxunásiipreen |
pamukun'ápxaan |
| then |
then |
they.put.on |
their.caps |
|
And they put on their basket-caps. |
| [6] |
koovúra |
yâamachas |
pamukun'ápxaan |
| all |
pretty |
their.caps |
|
All their caps were pretty. |
| [7] |
kári |
xás |
uum |
paxuntápan |
uum |
vúra |
pupikyáarara |
pamúpxaan |
| then |
then |
3.SG |
the.tan.oak.acorn |
3.SG |
Intensive |
not.finish |
her.cap |
|
But Tan Oak Acorn didn’t finish her cap. |
| [8] |
kári |
xás |
upkifínmit |
| then |
then |
she.turned.it.inside.out |
|
So she turned it inside out. |
| [9] |
kári |
xás |
upíthxuunasip |
| then |
then |
she.put.it.on |
|
(Bright: "The verb tákuk, translated 'to clean out' in sentence 3, refers to the process of cutting off the projecting sticks on the inside of a basket, after the actual weaving is finished. The heroine, not having time to do this, put her cap on inside out; as a result, the cups of tan oak acorns are prickly, rather than smooth.") |
| [10] |
kári |
xás |
upíip |
payaas'ára |
u'iiníshrihaak |
víri |
naa |
pa'avanihichtâapasheesh |
| then |
then |
she.said |
mankind |
when.it.comes.to.be |
so |
1sg. |
will.be.the.highest |
|
And she said "When Mankind comes into existence, I will be the most important
(lit. the highest). |
| [11] |
pahûutva |
kóo |
yaas'ára |
u'íinahaak |
víri |
naa |
vúra |
kích |
kaná'aamtiheesh |
káruma |
apxankêemich |
paninípxaan |
| however |
as.much.as |
rich.person |
when.it.exists |
so |
1sg. |
Intensive |
only |
they.will.eat.me |
in.fact |
poor.cap |
my.cap |
|
However long Mankind exists, he will eat only me, (though) the fact is that my
cap is a poor cap." |
| [12] |
víri |
xuntápan |
vaa |
úpaanik |
| so |
acorn |
so |
he.said |